CHAPTER II
QUICK AS LIGHTNING
For one awful instant the crowd sat as though paralyzed.
But in that instant Joe acted.
With one powerful leap he reached the frenzied shouter, his fist shot out,and the man went down as though hit with an axe.
Up the aisle Joe went like a flash, cleared the orchestra rail at a bound,and with one more jump was on the stage.
The audience had risen now and was crowding toward the aisles. Womenscreamed, some fainted, and all the conditions were ripe for a panic.
Above the hubbub, Joe's voice rang out like a trumpet.
"Keep your seats!" he shouted. "There's no danger. I tell you to keep yourseats."
The crowd halted uncertainly, fearfully, and Joe took instant advantage ofthe hesitation.
"You know me," he cried. "I tell you there's no danger. Haven't you eversmelled cigar smoke before?"
The suggestion was a happy one, and the crowd began to quiet down,regaining their courage at the sight of that indomitable figure on thestage.
Jim had been only two jumps behind Joe in his rush to the front, and whileJoe was calming the crowd Jim had rushed into the wing and dragged downsome draperies that had caught fire from a gas jet. In a moment he hadtrampled them underfoot and the danger was over.
The orchestra had seemed to keep its wits better than the rest of thethrong, and Joe signaled to the leader to strike up a tune. The nextinstant the musicians swung into a popular air, and completely reassured,the people settled down into their seats.
And while Joe stands there, exulting in his triumph over the panic, it maybe well for the sake of those who have not read the preceding books ofthis series to sketch something of his life and adventures up to thistime.
Joe's first experience in the great game in which he was to become sofamous was gained on the diamond of his own home town. He did so wellthere that he soon became known in the towns around as one of the bestplayers in the county. He had many mishaps and difficulties, and how heovercame them is told in the first volume of the series, entitled,"Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars; Or The Rivals of Riverside."
A little later on, when playing on his school nine, he had obstacles of adifferent character to surmount. The bully of the school sought to downhim, but found that he had made a mistake in picking out his victim. Joe'snatural skill and constant practice enabled him to win laurels for himselfand his school on the diamond, and prepared him for the larger field thatawaited him when later on he went to Yale.
As may be easily understood, with all the competition he had to meet atthe great University his chance was long in coming to prove his class inthe pitching box. But the homely old saying that "it is hard to keep asquirrel on the ground" was never better exemplified than in his case.There came a time when the Yale "Bulldog" was hard beset by the Princeton"Tiger," and Joe was called on to twist the Tiger's tail. How well he didit and what glory he won for his Alma Mater can be read in the thirdvolume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe at Yale; Or, Pitching forthe College Championship."
But even at the top notch of his popularity, Joe was restless at college.He was bright and keen in his studies and had no difficulty in standing upwell in his classes. But all his instincts told him that he was made forthe out-of-door life.
His mother had hoped that Joe would enter the ministry, but Joe, althoughhe had the greatest respect for that profession, did not feel that hislife work lay in that direction. He had been so successful in athleticsports and took such pleasure in them that he yielded to his natural bentand decided to adopt professional baseball as his vocation.
His mother was sorely grieved at first, and the more so as she felt thatJoe was "stepping down" in entering the professional ranks. But Joe wasable to show her that scores of college men were doing the same thing thathe planned to do, and she had too good sense to press her opposition toofar.
The opening that Joe was looking for came when he was offered a chance toplay in the Pittston team of the Central League. It was only a minorleague, but all the great players have been developed in that way, and Joedetermined to make it a stepping stone to something higher. How hespeedily rose to leadership among the twirlers of his league is told inthe fourth volume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe in the CentralLeague; Or, Making Good as a Professional Pitcher."
While Joe had been winning his spurs, the keen-eyed scouts of the bigleagues had not been idle. The St. Louis team of the National Leaguedrafted him into their ranks and took him away from the "bushes." Now hefelt that he was really on the highway to success. Almost from the starthe created a sensation, and it was his pitching that brought his team intothe first division.
A still wider field opened up before him when after one year with St.Louis he was bought by the New York Giants. This had been his ambitionfrom the start, but he had scarcely dared to hope that his dream wouldcome true. He promised himself that he would "pitch his head off" tojustify the confidence that McRae, the Giants' manager, had put in him.How he came through an exciting season and in the final game won thechampionship for his team can be seen in the sixth volume of the series,entitled: "Baseball Joe on the Giants; Or, Making Good as a Ball Twirlerin the Metropolis."
Of course this brought him into the World's Series, in which that year theBoston Red Sox were the Giants' opponents. It proved to be a whirlwindseries, whose result remained in doubt until the last inning of the lastgame. Joe had fearful odds to contend against since an accident toHughson, the Giants' standby, put the bulk of the pitching burden on ourhero's shoulders. Unscrupulous enemies also sought by foul means to keephim out of the Series, but Joe's indomitable will and magnificent pitchingwon out against all odds, as told in the volume preceding this, entitled:"Baseball Joe in the World Series; Or, Pitching for the Championship."
If ever a man had earned a rest it was Joe, and, as we have seen, he wastaking it now in his home town. Jim Barclay, a fine young Princeton manand second-string pitcher on the Giants, had come with him, not so much,it is to be suspected, because of his fondness for Joe, though that wasgreat, as to be near Clara, Joe's charming sister, who had been workingall sorts of havoc with poor Jim's heart.
By the time the orchestra had finished the tune, the panic had aboutsubsided. But Joe was taking no chances and he motioned for a repetition.The leader obeyed, and at the end of this second playing the danger wasentirely over. The audience was seated, with the exception of the man whomJoe had knocked down, who slunk shame-facedly out of the hall holding hishand on the place where the blow had landed.
And now that the peril had passed, it was Joe who was panic-stricken.Though brave as a lion and quick as a panther in an emergency, he was themost modest of men and hated to pose as a hero. He was wondering what heshould say or do, when Altman solved the problem by coming up to him withboth hands extended. That gave the audience its cue, and in a moment atempest of cheers swept the hall.
"What's the matter with Matson?" someone shouted in a stentorian voice.
"He's all right!" came back in a roar.
"Who's all right?"
"Matson! Joe Matson! Baseball Joe!"
Men crowded forward, and in a moment Joe was surrounded by his friends andfellow townsmen, most of whom had known him when he was in knickerbockersand now were more proud of him than they had ever been, even when hereturned to Riverside crowned with the laurels of his last great season.Joe was mauled and pounded until he was almost out of breath, and it was arelief when at last he had made his way back to his mother and sister.
They were both crying openly with joy and pride, and the looks they turnedon Joe were a greater reward than all the plaudits of his friends.
There was no going on with the performance after that. The nerves of theaudience were too highly keyed by the great peril that had been escaped.And they had a more dramatic scene to remember and talk about thananything that could be given them from the stage.
In the excitement, a great many of those present had lo
st track of thefriends or relatives that had been with them, and from all sides camevarious calls.
"Where is Frank?"
"Did you see what became of my sister Bessie?"
"Oh, Bill! I say, Bill! Where are you?"
Many of the scenes were most affecting. Women would rush into each other'sarms, crying with joy to find that the lost ones were safe.
"I can tell you it's a grand good thing that panic was stopped soquickly," remarked one man to another, as he gazed admiringly at the heroof the occasion.
As Joe and his folks were leaving, a tall, well-dressed man stepped up toJoe and extended his hand.
"Let me congratulate you, Mr. Matson," he said effusively. "That was asplendid thing you did to-night. I never saw anything finer."
"I'm afraid you exaggerate it," deprecated Joe.
"Not at all," said the stranger. "By the way, Mr. Matson, it's acoincidence that I came to town with the express purpose of seeing you ona business matter. But I didn't expect that my first meeting with youwould be under such exciting circumstances."
He took a card from his pocket and handed it to Joe.
"My name, as you see, is Westland," he continued. "I'm stopping at thehotel, and I would be glad to see you there or at any place that may beconvenient to you some time to-morrow."
"Suppose you call at my home to-morrow morning," said Joe. "It's onlyabout five minutes' walk from the hotel."
"You needn't bother about giving me the directions," said Westland, withan ingratiating smile. "Everybody in Riverside knows where Baseball Joelives. I'll be around at eleven o'clock."
He lifted his hat and departed, while Joe and the others walked towardhome.
"What do you suppose he wants of you, Joe?" asked Clara, with livelycuriosity.
"Oh, I don't know," answered her brother carelessly. "Some reporterprobably who wants to get the sad story of my life."
"If it is, he'll have something to write about after to-night," put inJim. "Great Scott! Joe, if that had happened in New York it would bespread all over the front page of to-morrow's papers."
"Oh, Joe, I'm so proud of you," sighed his mother happily.
"You're a brother worth having!" exclaimed Clara warmly.
Jim was on the point of saying that Joe was a brother-in-law worth having,but checked himself in time.
They had almost reached the house when Clara began to laugh.
"What's the joke?" inquired Jim.
But Clara only laughed the harder until they became a little alarmed.
"No, I'm not hysterical," she said, when she could speak. "I only happenedto remember what tune it was the orchestra played. I suppose it was thefirst thing the leader thought of, and he didn't have time to pick outanother. Do you remember what it was?"
They cudgeled their brains, but could not recall it.
"What was it?" asked Jim.
"'There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town To-night!'"